The Background, Explanations and Textual Research of Wang Ao’s The Poem of Prawns

Abstract

The sea is so vast, The sun and the moon rise and set on the back of a sea-turtle.BR Apodal fetus is as big as the house, Even the smallest prawns are as long as 100 inches.BR Palpi of prawns are like halberds, Striving to jump out from waves. Prawns volunteer to be pioneers for the Dragon, Ascending to win glory.BR The above poemis adapted from The Poem of Prawns written byWang Ao in the ancient Ming Dynasty. The whole poem is composed of 16 lines, 112 Chinese characters altogether. Through the description of the vast sea, fish and prawns, flying dragon and the blue sky, the poem presents us a splendid scenery of fierce waves, horrible sea monsters, violent winds, dancing fish and dragons, and the daring and braveness of prawns, which is grand and moving.BR The Poem of Prawns, a poem written in a painting by Wang Ao, is not his best. However, it clearly describes the bad political environment in his era and shows his strong will to make contributions to the country. The strength in the meaning of the two line “Palpi of the prawns are like halberds, striving to jump out from waves” unfolds us his resistance and unwillingness to the bad political atmosphere then. The prawns drawn by Wang Ao are actually fighters combating fierce storms, rather than small shrimps muddling on in the deep sea. The spirit of braving hardship and danger in the poem inspires others. The poem presents us not only the form of prawns, but also their ideal and aspiration. The prawns embody those who hope the country has a good political system, a wise emperor and loyal officials.BR The ancient Chinese politicians, thinkers and writers often strike a chord in readers’ heart by composing poetry. From The Poem of Prawns, we feel that Wang Ao was immensely complacent to contribute to the country, but had no opportunity to use his talent. At that time, the Ming Dynasty was in a state of decay. Though serving as an official after passing the imperial civil examination, Wang Ao was not assigned to a key post to give full play to his talent because wicked ministers and sycophants held away in the imperial court. Nevertheless, Wang Ao remains staunchly loyal to his faith. So people admires him. From the above, the poem exposes the corrupt officialdom then and Wang Ao’s dedication to the country. Through the background, explanations and textual research of Wang Ao’s The Poem of Prawns, the article gives a further study of the artistic conception of the poem.